The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library’s Open Book series
will feature a talk about an eternal love story by a Toledo
author, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Dr. S. Amjad Hussain will discuss his work With Whom
Shall I Talk in the Dead of Night, a book of letters written
to his deceased wife, published last year (2013) by the
University of Toledo Press. The letters were written by Dr.
Hussain to his wife Dottie, who died of cancer in 2006
after a partnership of 38 years. The talk is scheduled at 6 p.m.
on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 in the McMaster Center at Main
Library, 325 Michigan St.

Dr. Hussain said the idea for writing the book came to him as a
way to cope with the overwhelming sense of loss he felt after
his wife’s death. He wrote the letters to Dottie as if she was
on an extended trip.

“For two years I wrote to her from likely and unlikely places -
parks, airplanes, mountain hikes and my favorite chair in my
bedroom - to share with her what was happening in my life after
passing and also to reaffirm my love for her. It was soothing
and healing,” Dr. Hussain states in the introduction to the
book.

The book is not only an expression of one man’s grief, but also
a celebration of the life he lived with his wife and since her
passing.

Dr. Hussain describes both the mundane and the eventful, from
the evolution of the lives of his children to his own travels to
his home country of Pakistan and his intellectual pursuits. It
also includes e-mail from readers of Dr. Hussain’s columns that
appeared in The Blade which focused on his feelings after
his wife’s death.

Dr. Hussain’s columns appear each Monday in the daily newspaper,
and in 2007 he discussed his personal struggles in several of
the essays. The columns drew wide responses from readers who
shared their own stories of overcoming grief and their support
for him in his time of difficulty.

Others who have felt grief over the loss of a loved one might
find comfort in Dr. Hussain’s writings. Readers will also find a
love story that has not ended.

The talk is free and open to the public. Following Dr. Hussain’s
talk, there will be a book signing.

For more information, please contact the Toledo-Lucas County
Public Library at 419.259.5200,or the UT Press at 419-530-2170.